UN envoy visits Gaza to assess humanitarian situation

Robert H. Serry, Special Coordinator for Middle East Peace Process

10 July 2008 – With Israel and Gaza declaring a halt in fighting last month, a senior United Nations official today travelled to Gaza to assess how the world body can restart stalled humanitarian programmes in that area of the occupied Palestinian territory.

Robert Serry, the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµSCO), visited housing, environmental and sanitation works projects in Khan Yunis, as well as witnessed first-hand the impact of the sewage problem on Gaza.

According to Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµSCO, the current lull in violence in Gaza provides an opportunity to boost the situation there, with a resumption of Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ projects helping to consolidate the recent calm.

Yesterday, the Coordinator wrapped up a series of discussions in Cairo, Egypt, and Amman, Jordan, following earlier talks with President Mahmoud Abbas and senior Israeli officials.

Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµSCO was established in 1994 following the signing of the Oslo Accord, and since 2002, the Special Coordinator has been the Secretary-General’s envoy in the Middle East Quartet, comprising the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ, the United States, the European Union and Russia.

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